Kukla's Korner Hockey

There’s a small green shamrock painted on the back plate of Roloson’s goalie mask — a shamrock with the initials KR inside it. And there are the letters TDLO for “The Dream Lives On.”

It’s for a friend, a former camper at Roloson’s summer goalie school, a boy not unlike Roloson’s young sons, Brett and Ross. The shamrock is for a remarkable boy who’ll always be 12, with a mop of hair and smile that could melt the ice.

It’s for KR. Kelly Ryan.

“I’m honored to have him with me,” Roloson said.

“The dream lives on, that’s true,” said Phil Ryan, Kelly’s father. “Every day I watch Roli in the playoffs, even though Roli’s name is on the sweater, … Kelly is there. He’s in the Eastern Conference Finals.”